May the nomads bow before him, and his enemies lick the dust.
Parallel translations
- WEB Those who dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him. His enemies shall lick the dust.
- KJV They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him; and his enemies shall lick the dust.
- NKJV Those who dwell in the wilderness will bow before Him, And His enemies will lick the dust.
- NASB May the nomads of the desert bow before him, And his enemies lick the dust.
- NLT Desert nomads will bow before him; his enemies will fall before him in the dust.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Desert dwellers will bow before the king and his enemies will lick the dust in submission.
Overview
Even remote peoples and proud foes are pictured yielding to the king's rule. The imagery depicts total submission to a sovereign whom God has exalted. This anticipates the day when every knee will bow before Christ, whether in glad worship or in defeated subjection (Philippians 2:10).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Isa 49:23Kings will be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. They will bow to you facedown and lick the dust at your feet. Then you will know that I am the LORD; those who hope in Me will never be put to shame.”
- Mic 7:17They will lick the dust like a snake, like reptiles slithering on the ground. They will crawl from their holes in the presence of the LORD our God; they will tremble in fear of You.
- 1 Kgs 9:20–21As for all the people who remained of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites (the people who were not Israelites)—
- Ps 2:9You will break them with an iron scepter; You will shatter them like pottery.”
- Ps 110:6He will judge the nations, heaping up the dead; He will crush the leaders far and wide.
- Ps 110:1A Psalm of David. The LORD said to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”
- Isa 35:1–2The wilderness and the land will be glad; the desert will rejoice and blossom like a rose.
- Ps 21:8–9Your hand will apprehend all Your enemies; Your right hand will seize those who hate You.
- Luke 19:27And these enemies of mine who were unwilling for me to rule over them, bring them here and slay them in front of me.’”
- 1 Kgs 9:18Baalath, and Tamar in the Wilderness of Judah,
- Ps 22:29All the rich of the earth will feast and worship; all who go down to the dust will kneel before Him—even those unable to preserve their lives.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 72:9 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.